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gasped. Her breath came in heavy waves. The room was dark and she could hardly see two feet in front of her. Beads of sweat drizzled down the side of her head and plastered her nightshirt to her skin.
    She swung her legs out from under the covers and stood on still-trembling legs. She felt she might be sick and swallowed to control the bile threatening to leap from her mouth. Dizzy and confused, she somehow managed to find the door to her new room and twist it open.
    A cold breeze swept over her and she inhaled deeply. The lights from the city sparkled in through the single window in her loft, and she was glad for the illumination as she stumbled across the floor toward the bathroom.
    She flicked on the light in the bathroom and shut herself in. Her fingers shook, her chest heaved, and her legs ached. She gripped the edges of the sink and dropped her chin toward her chest.
    You are nothing.
    Truth Six: Not to be chosen would yield a cruel fate of my own making.
    The statements were stuck on repeat and Carrington couldn’t turn them off   —because they were true, because she was nothing. This was of her own making. She tried to remind herself of Authority Knight’s words. That this was God’s plan, that she could still be righteous, but her self-control failed her. She couldn’t keep from being sick anymore. Diving toward the single toilet, she released everything her stomach hadn’t digested. It stung coming up and scraped against her throat.
    She spit several times, trying to get the remaining bile out of her mouth, and dragged her hand across her lips. Defeat filed into her bones. Tears filled her eyes and then flooded her face. This was real; this was her place now.
    Carrington laid her cheek against the cold white toilet seat and finally cried. Her body heaved with painful reality and her skin ached with truth. She covered her mouth with her hand to stifle the volume of her sobs so she wouldn’t wake the other girls and let the sadness consume her.

The Histories
SECTION 1.6
    The Time of Ruin (also referred to as the Ruining) came between the first Prima outbreak in October 2112 and the last recorded Prima-related death in May 2113. During this time, the outbreak claimed over 9 billion lives worldwide, nearly destroying the human population.
    Those who received the entire treatment of the Prima Solution and had been exposed for over twelve months were the first to experience symptoms of Prima’s developing mutation. It was determined that the solution, which was intended to isolate and extricate invasive agents, was, in its mutated form, equally targeting vital systemic flora as well. In fact, Prima had begun to act independently, essentially becoming an autoimmune suppressor, attacking the host itself.
    As the Prima Solution took hold, the detrimental impact on internal organs, blood cell count, skin cells, and brain function proved fatal. The solution evolved into a super soldier, killing everything in its path. Initial patients declined too rapidly to diagnose, and once the cause was identified, the damage was already advancing too rapidly to be abated.
    As the scientific community struggled to find a resolution, themass casualties were mounting. Dr. Zefnerbach and her team of specialists were desperate to find an antidote and to make Prima work; however, she became a target of public outrage and was found murdered in her lab. Her assassin was discovered dead next to her, having succumbed to the ravages of the Prima mutation.
    As time passed, Prima mutated more rapidly, even affecting those who suspended the regimen after the recall. The only recipients who seemed to be spared were the few whose immune systems had rejected Prima initially.
    The world changed overnight. Panic and chaos erupted. Military forces and governing bodies around the world collapsed.
    The death and destruction were overwhelming. Those who remained after the dust settled found hope in an emerging leader named Robert Carson. He brought